REDPEAFOWL, Chapter 22: The Hong family secrets
What Lu Yipeng felt in that moment was the burst of fire, and a tremendous force. The young police officer quickly rolled down onto the floor at the fastest speed his body could respond to at that moment, and then everything went dark.
…
Beep.. Beep…
Lu Yipeng blinked his eyes open, and had to quickly lay back down when he saw the light from the neon tube high above his head before feeling a sharp pain in his left arm and side. The young police officer blinked his eyes open again, and took a moment to remember what had happened to himself.
He was walking towards the car with Duan Feng, and then the explosion happened.
!!!
Lu Yipeng immediately jumped up, startling the nurse standing nearby. She exclaimed, “Don’t get up like that!!” Before the nurse could hurry to push him back down onto the bed, the sudden influx of pain caused the young police officer to collapse automatically. And now he knew that he was wrapped in a gauze wrap, with saline drips hanging all over his arms.
The nurse quickly pressed the emergency button at the head of the bed, while the young police officer barely managed to say with a dry voice, “Duan Feng,
Duan Feng huh?”
Lu Yipeng’s question went unanswered. The nurse was busy checking his breathing tube and various other connections to see if everything was okay. Then after a moment, the doctor came in to examine him, and commented that the new wound must be cooled down, as he had suddenly jumped up earlier causing the wound to tear. Lu Yipeng looked at the doctor examining him, and asked again, “Duan Feng… my friend, how is he?”
“He’s in another room.” The doctor replied, as he unbuttoned his shirt and picked up a syringe from the tray.
“How is he doing?” Lu Yipeng asked anxiously, as he was still wearing the breathing aid. The doctor administered the medicine to him. Then he picked up the needle to stitch the torn wound.
“Take a rest, your friend is going to be fine.” said the doctor as he picked up a syringe and injected the medicine through the tube inserted in the young policeman’s hand. Then the young policeman drifted off to sleep once again.
…
“Yipeng, I brought something for you.” Lu Yipeng raised his head to look at the father before smiling, when he saw the police hat for kids in the father’s hand, he smiled and put it on his head, “My son, you look cooler with it on.”
Lu Yipeng raised his hand to tip the hat and then raised his hand to salute,
“I’m ready to go out on duty, sir.”
The father chuckled, “Where shall we go catch the bad guys today, officer?”
Being a policeman was Lu Yipeng’s dream job since he was a child. He couldn’t remember why he wanted to be a policeman so badly. Once he felt himself, he was determined to become a policeman and almost did not care about anything else. He wanted his father to see himself in a full black uniform with a cap badge and insignia, but then his father passed away shortly after he passed the police lieutenant exam.
Even so, Lu Yipeng’s determination and confidence in being a police officer never wavered. It never diminished even by the slightest bit.
Graduating with the highest honors, receiving commendations in every subject he studied, Lu Yipeng wore a police uniform with pride, performing his duties to the best of his abilities. No matter how dangerous or difficult the mission was, the young policeman volunteered for almost every task.
Even when investigating the case of Hong Kongque, a person with an identity similar to the legendary figure.
“Inspector-Lu.”
Lu Yipeng blinked a few times. Even though he could see the person clearly in front of him, the young policeman was about to get up again, but he was stopped by the person who placed his hand on his back.
“The wound might tear open again, inspector.” Chen Qian spoke, glancing at the face of the young officer lying down. The assistive device had been removed, but the condition of Lu Yipeng at this moment was truly worrying.
“I was shocked when I found out that there was an explosion.” Chen Qian spoke to Lu Yipeng, looking at his face, “Are you alright, inspector?”
The person who was asked nodded before saying, “The doctor said that the danger has passed, but he was in the driver’s seat so he got more injured than he should have.”
“!!”
“The forensic team reported to me that it was a bomb targeted device connected to the electrical system used for remotely controlling the car. It is believed to have been placed after you parked the car because the bomb would only work when using the remote key lock with the car before exploding.
Where did you park the car, and did you see anything suspicious?”
Lu Yipeng swallowed before recalling what had happened before. He and Duan Feng parked the car in front of the tea shop, went in to buy some hot tea to drink, and chatted for a while. During that time, they didn’t notice anything suspicious, but…
“I felt like there was a car following me when I left the police office.” Lu
Yipeng said before thinking slowly, “It was an old Nissan car, silver in color if I remember correctly. Initially, I thought it might be a group of influential people following, but coincidentally I encountered a chase incident. So I drove after the criminals and forgot about that car.”
“Do you remember the license plate?”
Lu Yipeng thought for a while before telling Chen Qian, who wrote it down in his notebook before asking, “Inspector-Lu, you usually drive the patrol car all the time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knows about this, right?”
“Um…”
“Inspector, the bomb was placed near the driver’s side door. Even though the bomb was not powerful enough to be fatal, at least it was meant to cause serious injuries to you, Inspector-Lu… I think the target of this attempt was you.”
“?!!” Lu Yipeng was shocked and turned to look at the commanding officer,
“Who would do something like this?”
“We are investigating.” Chen Qian replied, “Inspector, take it easy. I have someone guarding your room.”
Before continuing, Chen Qian began, “The ones who are doing this are close to you.”
Lu Yipeng blinked his eyes slowly, “How long have I been unconscious for?”
“Just one day.”
Lu Yipeng made a move to get up again, so Chen Qian had to press him down once more. Just then, the doctor walked in.
“I’ll leave you for now, inspector. Rest up well, and don’t get up in a hurry, or the wound might tear.” Chen Qian said before walking back out. Lu Yipeng looked after the commanding officer before raising his head to look at the doctor, “Doctor, what happened to me?”
“You have a small burn wound and some glass fragments embedded in your body, but I’ve removed them all.” The doctor replied. Lu Yipeng tried to move his left hand, and felt a sharp, burning pain. He raised his head to look at the doctor again.
“Doctor, and what about my friend?”
The doctor grabbed a syringe and injected it into the vein on the back of his hand before speaking calmly, “You just need to rest, sir.”
…
“Inspector-Lu.”
Lu Yipeng opened his eyes again, and almost tried to get up in a hurry.
Fortunately, someone reached out their hand to hold him down in time.
“How did you come in?”
The man with a scar across his forehead smiled at him, “Vice Captain Chen
Qian allowed me in. I used to work with you, sir.” Luo Songzhi said as Lu
Yipeng looked at his face for a moment before asking,
“Did Kongque send you?”
“Yes.”
“Is he… too busy to come himself or…”
Luo Songzhi hurried to continue speaking immediately, “Master Peafowl wants to see you, sir, but coming on his own might not be good for your reputation, Inspector Lu. I have come to tell you that Master Peafowl wants you to move in with him after you get out of the hospital.”
“?!” Lu Yipeng made a move as if to stand up, “What does he know?!”
Luo Songzhi had to push Lu Yipeng back down again, “I can’t answer that for you, sir.”
Lu Yipeng’s face was visibly tense, “Give me the phone. I want to talk to him.”
Luo Songzhi hesitated for a moment, but finally relented and handed the phone over to Lu Yipeng.
“Kongque!”
“Pengpeng.” The other person called out his name in a relieved voice, “I’m glad to hear your voice.”
Lu Yipeng’s heart on the left side instantly raced, “Kongque…”
“If you get better, come live with me. I don’t trust the police.” The other person spoke, and the young police officer quickly responded, “I am also a police officer.”
Upon hearing a chuckle at the end of the line, Lu Yipeng realized and quickly asked the question he wanted to ask in the first place before being sidetracked,
“Kongque. Do you know anything about this bombing incident?”
Hong Kongque fell silent for a moment before answering, “Hmm.”
“What do you know?”
“Come talk to me at the mansion.”
Lu Yipeng clenched his jaw, “You can’t tell me now?”
“No, you have to come to the meeting place with me first.”
“Why?”
“… You’ll find out when you get there.”
Lu Yipeng remained silent for a moment. Then he responded, “Kongque, is this related to you?”
The other end of the line was quiet for a moment, and the young police officer spoke up again, “Are you trying to deceive me into killing someone to keep quiet?”
“Pengpeng!” The voice on the other end grew louder immediately, “Don’t be stupid. If I wanted to kill you, I could. I have no need to go to such lengths.”
Lu Yipeng nodded, “I know, so tell me. What do you know for sure?”
“…”
“Kongque, is this explosion related to you?”
“Pengpeng…”
“Tell me, Kongque. If you don’t, I will have to investigate.” There was a pause, and the young police officer continued, “I’m not staying at your mansion.”
“Pengpeng!” Hong Kongque called out his name sharply before falling silent,
“Hand the phone Little Zhi back to, please.”
Lu Yipeng handed the phone back to Luo Songzhi, who had already picked up and was talking on the other end. After hanging up, Luo Songzhi turned to him and said, “I’ll go now, inspector. Take care of yourself.”
“Um…” Lu Yipeng made a sound, watching as Luo Songzhi walked out.
…
Because when he leaped to dodge, Lu Yipeng raised his hand to protect his head according to instinct. As a result, his face and head were not severely injured. There were only small cuts from pieces of glass, from the abdomen down to the upper thigh. In addition to the burns, there were also lacerations from glass and metal fragments from the exploding car body impacting him.
The injuries were quite serious and required careful attention.
Therefore, Lu Yipeng had to rest and recuperate in bed for another three days. He was able to get up and move around after that. In the meantime, the police officer came to inform him of the progress of the case step by step.
As soon as he raised his head, the first thing that the young inspector asked about and wanted to see was Duan Feng’s injuries; his colleague. Lu Yipeng, had no serious injuries to his legs, but the doctor’s opinion was that he should not move his body too much, as the wound might tear again. Therefore, Lu Yipeng had to be pushed in a wheelchair to visit Duan Feng in another room.
As soon as the young inspector was pushed into the room, he had to gasp when he found that his colleague had both a feeding tube and all kinds of connected tubes. He turned to ask the male nurse who helped push the wheelchair, “Is he getting better?”
“Not yet, sir.”
Lu Yipeng lowered his hand to spin the wheelchair closer to Duan Feng’s bed before he frowned. His colleague was now covered in bandages all over, including his face. The young detective was clearly agitated before he turned to speak to the male nurse.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
The male nurse looked at him, then shook his head, “Then you can have ten minutes. I’ll stop by after that, sir.” With that, he walked out. Lu Yipeng raised his head to look at the unconscious figure on the bed once again.
Oh, if he hadn’t handed the car key to Duanfeng, this doctor probably wouldn’t have…
The young inspector put his face down on the edge of the bed. The person with such severe injuries should really be him.
Lu Yipeng had been a police officer for five years, and Duanfeng had only been his assistant for two years. Before this, they were both studying at the police academy. Lu Yipeng used to see Duanfeng’s face occasionally as a junior, but they really became close when they started working together.
Lu Yipeng let out a sigh and raised his head to look at his colleague again. He couldn’t believe that this was the condition of the person who had been arguing with him just a few days ago. Before this, the two of them were still…
“Captain…” Lu Yipeng put his face down on the edge of the bed again before he jolted, feeling like someone was opening the door. It shouldn’t have been ten minutes yet.
The young inspector turned back, with his gaze fixed.
“Pengpeng.”
Hong Kongque walked in accompanied by three or four police officers guarding the front of the room. He was wearing a black coat and was staring at the young police officer, “Are you feeling better now?”
Lu Yipeng looked at Hong Kongque before turning to look at the officers behind him, “How did you get in?”
“I told them that I’m your senior relative.” Hong Kongque answered. Lu Yipeng looked at him again, “Do they know that I don’t have a senior relative as young as you?”
“Hmm…” Hong Kongque cleared his throat and shook his head, “I told them straight up who I am.”
“?!”
“Come with me, Pengpeng.”
“!!!” Lu Yipeng looked at Hong Kongque’s face, unbelieving, before turning to the officers behind him, “Can you please leave?”
The officers looked at Lu Yipeng before shaking their heads, “We can’t, we have to ensure your safety as per the deputy’s orders. And besides, he is also…”
“Let me stay with him for a while.” Hong Kongque interjected, reaching out his hand, “If you’re worried I might harm him, you can handcuff me.”
The four officers looked at each other hesitantly before one of them spoke up,
“Alright, we’ll leave you two alone for now. But if you don’t leave after that, we’ll be back.”
They then handed a phone to the person standing next to Hong Kongque, who appeared to be waiting patiently. One of the officers instructed him to cuff Hong
Kongque’s hands, and Lu Yipeng heard the sound of the handcuffs clicking as they were locked, and the four officers then left the room.
Lu Yipeng raised his head and looked at the person in front of him again, Hong Kongque stood there. In a posture with his hands raised. There was a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.
They looked at each other for a while longer before Hong Kongque turned and used his foot to pull a chair over and sat down in front of him. Like a convict waiting to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.
Lu Yipeng swallowed saliva. For four years… Four years he had hoped to be able to handcuff this man throughout. Lu Yipeng believed that even if half the police force were there, they still wouldn’t be able to handcuff this guy, but now… Hong Kongque agreed to be handcuffed himself…
“Kongque.” The young police officer spoke up, looking at the beautiful face reminiscent of that dream once again before continuing, “When me and Captain Duan Feng were inside a tea shop there were witnesses confirming that someone pushed a car close to the patrol car I was driving. He claimed that his car battery was dead and needed to borrow a battery from my car. He said he had permission. Then he opened the car hood. The person was a man around fifty-sixty years old, wearing a long coat and behaving like a normal old man.”
He stopped and turned to look at the person sitting there, “But the car hood can only be opened from inside the car… He used his bare hands to pry open the hood as if it were normal… Kongque. Are you involved with this man?”
Hong Kongque remained silent for a moment before chuckling, “I can’t pry open a car hood with my bare hands.”
Lu Yipeng stared at the man in front of him for a while before Hong
Kongque responded. Then he asked, “What time did someone see him?”
“Around eleven o’clock. I parked the car and stopped by the tea shop at that time.” Lu Yipeng replied, and the other person’s face immediately looked pensive, “Eleven o’clock… Your car was parked nearby in district C…” Hong Kongque said, sounding thoughtful. Lu Yipeng looked at him again and asked, “Kongque. Do you really know what’s going on?”
Hong Kongque did not answer the question. He moved his chair closer to the young police officer, then spoke with a serious expression, “Pengpeng. If you don’t want to stay in my mansion. I suggest you fly to another country for a while. Take a vacation.”
“?!” Lu Yipeng’s eyes widened before immediately exclaiming, “Kongque, tell me what is really going on. That old man. You, and me… The bomb was deliberately placed on the driver’s side. I usually drive that car, but Captain Duan had to take over driving.” The young police officer spoke angrily before pushing the wheelchair closer, “Tell me Kongque, what is really going on!”
Hong Kongque pursed his lips. His troubled face was clearly visible, “I can handle this myself. You just… hide somewhere for a while while I sort it out.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” The young police officer exclaimed, “Kongque. If you refuse to tell me, then just go back to your mansion, and don’t call me again.”
“Pengpeng…” Hong Kongque called his name, with a pained expression rarely seen, “Can you not argue with me about this at all?”
Lu Yipeng gritted his teeth. Then he pushed the wheelchair closer, “Kongque.
I can’t just avoid matters like this. My friend suffered. I myself have been targeted without knowing the reason. You know that. Even if you refuse to tell me now, even if you try to intimidate me in any way, I still have to find out.”
Hong Kongque stayed silent for a moment. Then he let out a sigh, “The truth is, this is my private matter.”
“Um… I know. I also have a private matter with you as well.”
“…”
“Kongque.” Lu Yipeng continued, “Tell me. Are you here to tell me this story? If that person is your enemy, and now they are committing serious crimes like planting bombs, attempting to kill officials, causing chaos, join forces with me. We can send them to prison.”
Hong Kongque looked at him for a moment. And then he smiled, “It seems you Pengpeng has improved your speech lately. Did Paechikchik teach you?”
Lu Yipeng locked eyes with the person in front of him before trying to calm his mind and heart completely, “Can you tell me… what really happened?”
Hong Kongque stayed quiet for a moment. Finally, he spoke, “Go and find the details about the case of killing the Hong family thirty-six years ago. I think the police department must have kept the case file.”
“?!”
“I also know that you will not easily go along with me.” Hong Kongque continued, then let out a sigh, with a faint smile on his face, “But I think you might agree if I agree to your request first. I have great hope in this approach.”
“Kongque…” Lu Yipeng called out the name of the opposite party, but before he could say anything, Hong Kongque spoke up.
“Ask your assistant about that case. Tell them that Heiying has returned. He was there at that time, so he might be able to give you a brief overview.”
Lu Yipeng looked at the person in front of him, “Why don’t you tell me yourself…”
“Have you ever wanted to know my history, or not?” Hong Kongque said with a smile, “Investigate for yourself, inspector. After that, if you still want any help from me, we will meet again. Take care of yourself, alright. I am worried.”
Finishing his words, Lu Yipeng stood up with the support of his right hand, which was not injured much, and straightened the shirt of the other person.
“Kongque.”
The person being called turned back, “Do you want to know anything else?”
Lu Yipeng looked at the person in front of him before slowly standing up, always keeping pace with the other person.
“You… take care of yourself, okay? Don’t do anything foolish.”
Hong Kongque looked at him, then chuckled lightly, “Why are you worried, inspector? Take care of yourself. If you stand up like this, the wound will tear again.”
Lu Yipeng said nothing. His right hand, still free, moved up to hold Hong Kongque’s face. Before his lips were about to touch.
The warm touch of the lips and the gentle touch of the tongue made Hong Kongque shiver. Lu Yipeng kissed him for a moment before withdrawing his lips.
“Kongque. I still want to eat the snowfish at your home.”
Hong Kongque pouted his lips, then smiled, “Pengpeng, you are getting more wicked every day, but if you want to come eat for free and don’t want to stay, then… don’t bother.”
“Kongque…”
“I’m going back.” Hong Kongque spoke a little louder for a moment. A police officer outside opened the door and handed the key to Lu Yipeng, who looked at the person in front of him before speaking softly, “Take care of yourself.”
Hong Kongque smiled at the corner of his mouth before walking out.
…
Lu Yipeng sat back down, trying to reassure himself that the wound was not torn. All the police officers followed Hong Kongque out, leaving him alone in a melancholic room with Duan Feng, who had not yet regained consciousness.
Hong Kongque…
Lu Yipeng sighed and thought to himself that Hong Kongque had never agreed to appear in front of anyone else before. Why today, of all days…
“Inspector?”
The louder voice made Lu Yipeng turn around immediately. He saw Duan Feng’s black eyes, surrounded by bandages, looking at him.
“Captain!” Yipeng exclaimed, then used his uninjured arm to wheel the wheelchair over to Duan Feng’s bed. The young captain looked at him and blinked slowly, “Inspector, you don’t look great at all.”
Lu Yipeng looked at him and chuckled, “Have you been awake for long?”
“Adequately enough.” Duan Feng said, “You were chatting loudly with your senior relative when you woke me up.”
Lu Yipeng felt a pang of guilt, “Sorry for speaking loudly.”
Duan Feng looked at him and continued, “Can you take off the breathing device? I can’t talk comfortably. I’m thirsty too.”
Lu Yipeng looked at his colleague before wheeling the wheelchair to call the nurse.
The doctor came to check on Duan Feng’s condition and agreed to remove the sigh device. After drinking water, both police officers were left alone together in the melancholic room once again.
“I think I recognize the face of your senior relative. The same person we sat in the car with that day, right?” Duan Feng asked, still with bandages covering his face. Lu Yipeng nodded in agreement.
“He is Hong Kongque.”
“…”
“I know, sir.” Duan Feng continued, “You don’t want to reveal his name, so he claims to be a senior relative, doesn’t he? You are the only one who can come and go freely in his mansion. Not just me, everyone is suspicious of the unusual relationship between you and him. Um…” The young police officer paused for a moment, “I’m not trying to pry into anything. Just curious… Could it be that the relationship between you and him is not ordinary… Um…”
Lu Yipeng’s expression immediately became more difficult, “It’s not like that.”
“But… um… I think I saw you kissing him the other day…”
Lu Yipeng’s face twisted even more in distress, wondering when Duan Feng had woken up and why he hadn’t said anything to let them know.
“Um… I might be shocked, really. I don’t know you like men…”
“I’m not.” Lu Yipeng denied immediately. He looked at his colleague, then let out a sigh, “That’s enough of that.”
“Inspector, you are embarrassed, aren’t you?” Duan Feng said. Then chuckled softly before continuing, “But… what he said back then, you probably wouldn’t care about it.”
“?”
“The case of the Hong family massacre.”
“?!”
“Inspector.” Duan Feng turned to look at him, “They planted a bomb in our car, whoever it may be. We need to catch them. It’s lucky that the inspector and I were not that close. When I woke up and heard your voice, I was relieved. I thought the inspector would…”
“Captain Duan Feng.” Lu Yipeng interjected before biting his lower lip,
“Your symptoms are worse than mine, you know.”
“Um… I feel like my face is on fire. The more I talk, the more it hurts. Is it like a burn, sir?”
“Um…”
“Am I going to lose my appearance?”
Lu Yipeng looked at his colleague before responding, “Not at all. Nowadays, medical techniques are so advanced that even large burn wounds can be treated and healed completely. Yours is just a tiny bit.” Despite saying that, Lu Yipeng himself was not sure how severe Duan Feng’s burn wound was. The other side chuckled.
“That’s right. Plastic surgery techniques nowadays are so advanced. I’ve watched foreign shows before, some people undergo surgery and come out looking even better. Hmm.. this might be my lucky chance. Suddenly, I can get free plastic surgery. Do I have to pay you for that, sir? Not sure, but I might end up more handsome than you, inspector.”
Lu Yipeng chuckled, “You’re already more handsome than me.”
“Don’t taunt me, inspector. I’m not afraid of you, but I’m afraid for you.” Duan Feng said before wincing in pain.
“Inspector… I feel pain on my face and at the wound, but I can’t feel anything below.”
“!!!”
“Inspector…” The other person called out with a dry voice, “Catch the person who planted the bomb in our car. Catch them.”
Lu Yipeng clenched his jaw, his hand gripping so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He looked into the dark eyes of Duan Feng, tears welling up, before responding with a hoarse voice, “I will catch them, commander. I promise.”
…
Chen Qian visited Lu Yipeng in the afternoon, bringing a basket of fruits.
“I visited Captain Duan Feng earlier. He still speaks as confidently as ever.” Chen Qian said as he placed the basket of fruits down. Lu Yipeng raised his head once, before looking up and asking, “Do you know about Captain Duan
Feng’s leg?”
Chen Qian remained silent for a moment before responding, “Hmm… the doctor said that some shrapnel is lodged near the nerve line in the lower body. If his body recovers and there are no additional infections, surgery may be possible.”
“Um… will he be able to walk again?”
“It’s not certain yet, but I hope he will be able to walk again.” Chen Qian replied before looking at Lu Yipeng.
“Inspector… I heard that Hong Kongque came to visit you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say to you?”
Lu Yipeng turned to look at Chen Qian immediately, “Have you ever heard the name Heiying (black eagle) before?”
Chen Qian looked at him before thinking for a moment, “Is Heiying from the Hong family?”
“The Hong family?” Lu Yipeng reiterated, “Who mentioned this name to you, Hong Kongque?”
Lu Yipeng nodded. Chen Qian’s eyes lit up instantly, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Inspector, have you figured something out?”
“I suspect that Hong Kongque has been visiting since over thirty years ago.” Chen Qian spoke before sighing, “You might not have been born yet. Let me give you a brief overview.”
The old police officer spoke and then pulled a chair closer to sit down,
“About thirty years ago, the Hong family was an influential family in one of the clans. Heiying was the nickname of the eldest son known as Hong Sujue, who was considered a genius in the business and expanding the family’s business. However, it was rumored that he had some mental issues. He was said to be both brilliant and insane. Rumor has it that Hong Sujue raped his younger brother, whom he kept locked in a room for several years.”
Lu Yipeng was shocked, “That’s committing heinous acts of sexual misconduct and moral wrongdoing.”
“Well… because he was the eldest son of the Hong family, no one dared to interfere. Most importantly, that younger brother wasn’t his real younger brother, but a child his father adopted and raised. Hong Sujue became the family leader and managed the family business until the age of twenty-two, which was when he was flourishing the most. But one day, a horrifying incident occurred.”
?!!”
“At that time, this case became famous throughout the island.” Chen Qian said, pouring himself a glass of water before lifting it to drink, “That day, the people in the Hong family invited everyone to celebrate on a luxury yacht. The entire household went, even the servants. The luxury yacht belonged to the Hong family leader, and it was a celebration of his birthday. It was in the news because the owner of the yacht for rent had lost contact with the yacht for several days, so they reported it to the police. When we sent the police to investigate, they found the yacht floating in the middle of the bay. According to the words of the officer who went in at that time, when we climbed aboard the yacht, we could smell a strong stench of decay, almost making us sick. From bow to stern, there were only corpses strewn about. Most had their necks broken or organs crushed so severely that they bled to death. Some had been shot, totaling around thirty-one bodies. No one survived. This case became a shocking and gruesome one in our police department’s history.”
“No one survived at all?” Lu Yipeng repeated, sighing before continuing, “It wasn’t exactly like that. There were nearly forty people from the Hong family on the yacht that day. The exact number is uncertain because the owner of the yacht did not inform us beforehand. We found thirty-one bodies. There was no one alive on the yacht to tell us anything. But some people were missing. Through investigation, we found the owner of the yacht himself missing, along with his close friend, who I believe was named Li, and his younger brother who was rumored to have been mistreated by him for years.”
Pausing for a moment, Chen Qian continued, “This story became big news. Initially, we hoped that someone had escaped and was still alive, waiting for rescue at sea. However, in the end, we found two more bodies that did not match the missing persons. The investigation team concluded that the leader of the family may have gone mad and ended up killing his entire family, including relatives, servants, and even his younger brother. Then he may have thrown his bodies into the sea and drowned himself. This speculation was based on the owner’s tendency to cling to possessions, especially items of affection. It was heard that he would keep such belongings close and never let them go. So we thought he wouldn’t allow the bodies of his brother and close friend to rot and be found by anyone, hence why he may have submerged them all in the water.
However, that was just speculation. No bodies of those three were ever found.
They may still be alive.”
Chen Qian sighed as Lu Yipeng remained speechless. They couldn’t imagine the horror of such a case before it happened.
“But in the following years, the name of Hong Kongque appeared in the industry. Those of us who worked on the case back then felt a chill, as we heard that around four or five years before the mass killings on the yacht, the leader had started calling himself Hong Kongque (Red Swan). We thought that Red Peafowl might be Hong Sujue himself. Sometimes, he might have survived and felt guilty, so he used the name instead of his brother’s. Another thing was that Hong Kongque remained mysterious. He never revealed his identity for over thirty years. We thought he might be Hong Sujue himself.”
Lu Yipeng swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine immediately.
He had thought before that Hong Kongque was mentally ill, but never imagined it would lead to the extent of him brutally killing twenty or thirty people like this. The young police officer heard himself asking,
“Deputy… Do you have a picture of Hong family’s heir in the case file?”
Chen Qian paused for a moment before nodding, “I think so. He was a prominent figure back then, but… Inspector Hong’s heir, is it. If he is still alive, he would be around fifty-seven or fifty-eight by now. He may have undergone cosmetic surgery. I think Hong Kongque, even if he grew up, he should be in his thirties.”
Lu Yipeng pursed his lips, “Deputy, if Hong Kongque is really the leader, why would he tell me to investigate his own crimes?”
Chen Qian looked at him, with a troubled expression, “I don’t know. He is crazy, uses common sense that ordinary people can’t understand. Sometimes he may want to confuse us.”
Lu Yipeng remained silent for a moment before asking, “Deputy, where is the
Hong family case file stored?”
“In the old office documents room at the department. The case has expired, but it’s still unsolved. It may still be kept for the detectives to look at. If you’re interested, go and take a look.”
“Can you take it out for me now… I want to see it immediately.”
Chen Qian looked at Lu Yipeng before speaking, “If not, tell the doctor to sign off on your discharge from the hospital. I will go see it myself.”
…
As the sun rose, two boxes of documents were brought to Lu Yipeng’s recovery room. Chen Qian dragged a chair and sat next to him. He spoke, “Inspector-Lu, this is the entire Hong family case file. I managed to borrow it for three days.”
Lu Yipeng raised his head to look at the boxes of documents before nodding,
“Thank you very much, Deputy.”
“It’s nothing.” Chen Qian said before turning to introduce a man in his sixties who stood dignified like a well-trained person, “This is former Inspector Zhou. He used to be in charge of this case. In fact, he only retired last year. I see that the case has been going on for a long time. You may want to hear more details from someone who was involved, so I invited him to join us.”
“Thank you very much, sir.” Lu Yipeng said before turning to bow his head to the elderly inspector, “Please help me, Inspector.”
The former inspector chuckled lightly, “No problem, Inspector. I also want to know the cause of this case. When I heard Hong Kongque mentioned, I rushed over here, Inspector. Who knows, this time we might be able to solve both cases at once.”
Lu Yipeng chuckled softly as Chen Qian spoke up, “Well then… I’ll take my leave now. If you come across anything related to the explosion, please inform me immediately, Inspector.”
“Understood.”
After Chen Qian finished speaking, he walked out, leaving Lu Yipeng with the elderly inspector and the old case files.
The old case files were as old as the person responsible for them. The inspector helped him pull out all the files, with both the covers and contents yellowed with age, emitting a musty smell that had accumulated over time in the room. In the end, Lu Yipeng found the file listing the perpetrator and the missing persons, separated into two large sections arranged alphabetically. Luckily, Zhou Zhilian remembered that the name of the missing person was tucked away at the end of the second volume with paper dividers. It would have been a daunting task for Lu Yipeng to find it himself if he had to read through both files, as many of the notes on the paper dividers had faded to the point of being unreadable.
Upon opening that page, he saw a black and white photograph of a man in his early twenties to early thirties. His posture was imposing, and his dark eyes seemed to be staring directly at him. Below the photo was a name written in Chinese; Hong Sujue or Heiying (Black Eagle).
Following that were detailed and lengthy personal history, from parents’ names to birth accident records, bodily scars, and several pictures of him. Lu
Yipeng furrowed his brow as he read on, trying to compare the man’s face to the scars listed. It didn’t seem to match what Hong Kongque had mentioned at all. Whether it was a scar, a mole, or something else, it wasn’t quite right. After all these years, it could have been removed or altered through surgery.
Thinking that Hong Kongque could have been a ruthless murderer over a decade ago, Lu Yipeng felt a pang of heartache. He had once hoped to drag Hong Kongque into prison… But like this…
The young inspector pursed his lips. Then he saw another person’s photo, a young man in his early thirties with swept-back hair and a studious demeanor.
Below the photo were two written characters.
Li Kong
Lu Yipeng snorted contemptuously.
Li Kong?!
Hong Kongque’s butler also felt that his name should be Li Kong.
The young police officer with curly hair, Butler Li, would be about sixtyseven years old judging from his date of birth listed below. Adding it up, he seemed to be about the same age. Lu Yipeng raised his head to look at the elderly inspector.
“Inspector, this man…”
Zhou Zhilian moved closer to the young police officer, “Ah, yes. His name is
Li Kong, a close subordinate of Hong Sujue. It seems he has been part of the Hong family since he was young. He is close to Hong Kongque and also the younger brother… When we found a photo of Hong Sujue’s younger brother in his room. Witnesses said… he had been scolded by Hong Sujue to death because he was caught secretly taking a picture of the younger brother. It seems that Hong Sujue was very possessive of his younger brother. He even ordered the destruction of the photos to ensure that no one else saw them except himself. When we went to look for evidence, we almost had nothing to confirm what the younger brother of his looked like until we found a photo hidden under Li
Kong’s bed and we only knew who he was because on the back of the photo there was written Second Young Master. So we concluded he was the younger brother, it continued to be… for another two or three pages.”
Lu Yipeng nodded in confusion before carefully opening the old paper sheets. One of the black and white photos was kept in an envelope attached to the paper. The moment Lu Yipeng saw it, the young police officer felt a chill running down his spine.
The black and white photo showed a half-body portrait of a young man around fifteen or sixteen years old. In a simple shirt jacket, looking completely adorable. In the photo, the young man was looking up at something. The image resembled the secretly taken photo, but Lu Yipeng’s heart began to beat rapidly, almost jumping out.
This face, this nose, these eyes…
Lu Yipeng raised his hand to grab the photo and felt his hand tremble slightly. He turned it over and saw someone’s handwriting on the back, short and concise, “Little Young Master and the Bird in the garden.”
Placing the photo back in the envelope, there were three letters written on it.
Hong Paijue…
Lu Yipeng clenched his lips tightly before finally murmuring.
“Hong Kongque…”
…
**Now I know that Pengpeng is really stubborn. Haha.